Hamas celebrates anniversary of prisoner exchange deal

Hamas celebrates the anniversary of the “deal”, calls to kidnap more soldiers Gaza – Mohammed Habib On Friday, Israeli Channel 10 showed an interview with former Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit after one year of his release, trying to show him as a victim. Gilad Shalit was captured by the resistance in Gaza and held for five years. For first time since his release, Shalit spoke about his life as a prisoner in Gaza and what he did.
He said: “I would make a ball out of socks or a shirt, and then throw it into the trash can. I would invent all kinds of things and also write. I would draw a map of Israel; of the Mitzpe. I did it to remember. To imagine the places.
About the day of his release, he said: “During the ride, I was nervous. There was a lot of pressure. I didn’t know if something would happen, if they would try to hurt me, or something would go wrong at the last moment. When I got out of the vehicle and realised I was in Egypt, I felt a rush of relief."
"I saw dozens of people, hundreds of them, after being in contact with only a few people for all those years. There were so many people there. It was a strange feeling, a sense of shock," he said.
He said, afterwards they entered the room where they recognised him, and went home "I walked around the house. Looked outside the windows, saw all the guards patrolling the yard."
Association of Prisoners and Ex-prisoners of Fatah in Gaza Strip is going through intensified communication to nationally celebrate the first anniversary of the prisoner exchange deal of October 18, 2011.
The Association said it contacted national the coordinator of Islamic and national factions in the West Bank Dr Wasel Abu Yousef, Head of Palestinian Prisoners' Club Qaddura Fares, Chief of the High Committee on Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Amin Shoman, and National Committee for Support of Prisoners of the National Islamic Factions.
This was to unite the efforts and the activities in Gaza and the West Bank in order to support the prisoners and liberated, where all welcomed this national step of Fatah to unite the Palestinians.
The Association told Arabstoday that it is currently working on an action plan that depends on the terms of unity and national work in order to improve the solidarity actions for the prisoners and confronting the Israeli racist policies, to guarantee fair human rights.
It invited all Palestinians to actively participate in the weekly sit in which is organised by the prisoners’ families in the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza to force the occupation into respecting human rights and releasing the detainees.
The Association praised and thanked the released prisoners for spending their lives in the Israeli prisons, and still keep the unity and the national identity.
Dozens of the liberated Palestinian prisoners announced launching the event celebrating the memory of “Ahrar deal” (Free/liberate) in front of the house of prisoner Hassan Salama in Gaza.
Hassan Salama was arrested in Hebron in 1996 charged of arranging revenge for the assassination of “al-Qassam” chief architect martyr Yahya Ayyash. Hassan was sentenced to life imprisonment.
In a press conference the Association said no matter how long the Palestinian prisoners remain in the Israeli prisons, their freedom is approaching and the occupation will end.
The conference was attended by dozens of prisoners, participants and mothers of prisoners.
Minister of Prisoners and Ex-prisoners in Gaza Attallah Abu al-Subbah invited the Palestinian resistance faction to do its best and kidnapping more Israeli soldiers so they can be used as bargaining chips to bring about the release Palestinian prisoners.
The released Palestinian Tawfiq Abu Naim spoke for Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement, saying that on Friday they will announce the celebration of the first anniversary for the prisoner exchange deal, in front of prisoner Hassan Salama’s house.
He said that before the deal, and despite the destruction, shelling and killing in the war Israel started against Gaza, the Palestinian resistance was able to impose its wants on the negotiations table.
He said that Palestinians did their best to release their hostages and that the occupation only understands “force and resistance.”
He invited all Palestinian factions to kidnap Israeli soldiers to exchange them with Palestinian soldiers and leaders as Ahmad Saadat and Marwan al-Barghouty, adding that there are entire Palestinian families in the Israeli prisons such as the family of Abu Hamid. Four of the same family members are detained and sentenced for life; he wondered how all these will be released through negotiations.
He concluded his speech saying: “Silent world, where are you? Where are the human rights in the occupatory crimes? Where is the United Nations?”
The prisoner exchange deal is one the biggest exchange of Arab and Israeli prisoner’s deals.
It was signed between Hamas and Israel, and it resulted in the liberation of 1027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange of Hamas releasing Gilad Shalit.
The deal was announced closed by Egyptian mediation in October, 11 2011.